Supabets blame hackers for GHC127,000 record betting wins

Officials of Supabets Sports Betting say they suspect fraudsters hacked into their system resulting in abnormal recording of betting wins in Kumasi and other places.

Over 30 bettors, wearing red armbands, today besieged the Asafo office to disrupt work over unpaid wins which have now risen to over GHC127,000.00 from an initial GHC50,000.00

They had threatened to set ablaze the Kumasi offices of the South African-owned entity.

Local managers however say the company cannot be blamed for abnormal odds published in its system which is the basis of winning claims.

Police have been keeping surveillance at Supabets offices to avert possible attack on the facilities by angry winners.

About 29 of them on Tuesday lodged a complaint over the incident with the Asokwa police.

With a 48-hour ultimatum by the winners due to expire today, some of them wore red armbands and stormed the Asafo office of Supabets to prevent workers from working.

“We made sure that they were not able to work. All the bouncers, we made sure that we sent them out. Nobody too will stake a bet because you are owing us, and you haven’t paid us and you are still expecting other customers to come and bet. Why if they win and you don’t pay them too so today we stopped them from working”, one of the affected bettors said.

He says the stand-off between the company and the bettors has been referred to the Gaming Commission for arbitration.

“We believe that the odds that the system gave them were wrong odds. So if it’s wrong odds, where are we gonna get money to pay them, never. It’s not gonna happen. That is why we are saying somebody hacked the system”. Said Mr. Baffuor-Awuah.

The bettors, according to Mr. Baffuor-Awuah risk losing the total amount of money won respectively.

“What we gonna do is pay them the money they used to stake the bet. After that, we go to the Gaming Commission to deal with the issue”.

As if that is not enough, Mr. Baffuor-Awuah says Supabets cannot be held responsible for the publishing of wrong odds though he admits there was a mistake.

There was a mistake. Even system, mistake do happens and plane crash occurs.

So if a plane crash, then you go to the airline company and go and argue with the airline company how come the mistake occurred? If a medical doctor make a mistake and somebody died on the operating bed, then you go to the medical doctor and go and beat him because he made a mistake? Its occupational hazard.

It’s there and the customers too they know that in instances like this, we pay them the money they used to stake the bet. It was a mistake and they are not gonna get the money”. He insisted.

Mr. Baffour Awuah’s comments have further infuriated bettors, who say they will pursue the matter even to the courts.